Candle in the Wind
by Cherazor
Summary: Dark Kat's on the loose again, and he's got a plan that just might take out the SWAT Kats for good.


Prologue  
  
Dark Kat stood looking at a map. He mumbled something quietly to himself.  
  
His Creeplings stood around him, chattering curiously, especially one of the pink creatures.  
  
The little Creepling couldn't hold himself any longer and started to move closer to Dark Kat until he stood beside him. He looked at his master and started to chatter loudly. It sounded almost like the Creepling was asking his master what he was doing.  
  
Dark Kat, who didn't understand this, got disturbed and turned to the Creepling and almost killed it only by looking at it. The Creepling got shocked and moved a step backwards.  
  
Dark Kat grabbed the Creepling around his little neck, almost strangling it. The Creepling started to fight against Dark Kat by grabbing Dark Kat's paw and trying to pull it off him, even if he knew it was in vain. The Creepling cried out a small chatter, sounding like a prayer.  
  
Dark Kat didn't listen to him. He smashed the little Creepling against the wall and, when he dropped the Creepling to the floor, a small spot of blood could be seen on the wall. The Creepling looked at his master with a sad look and gave out a last chatter before he died.  
  
The other Creeplings moved closer to the dead Creepling. They looked curiously at the Creepling, until they realized he was dead. The other Creeplings started slowly to move backwards.  
  
"Ah, yes, my Creeplings, I understand that you are curious, but please have *patience*!" Dark Kat said, screaming out the last word. "Tomorrow MegaKat City will see sunlight for the last time and from its ashes, Dark Kat City will rise!" Dark Kat said with a big grin, until he broke out into evil laughter.

---------------------------------  
  
Title: Candle In The Wind  
Author: Cherry Koivula  
E-mail: cherry998@hotmail.com  
Ratings: PG for cartoon violence.  
Synopsis: Dark Kat's on the loose again, and he's got a plan that just might take out the SWAT Kats for good.   
Legal notice: "SWAT Kats – The Radical Squadron" and the chars in this fic are property of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, and are used without permission. Don't sue me, I don't own a dime. The only thing that I own in this is the idea. (And, don't even try to steal it from me!)  
  
  
Author's notes:  
Ooookay! After much hard work, I managed to finish the first part. It took me a while; I can't even remember when I started it!   
Anyway, I tried another writing style, and personally, I like this one better. I tried my best to keep 'em all in character. I don't know how good I did, so please, e-mail me a comment or leave me a review back at FF.net.  
  
My many thanks goes to Helion for playing as my beta-reader and for checking my spelling and grammar! ::Hugs:: And to Pheonix and skSMASH for reading this and giving me the comments that I needed so much.  
  
Now on with the story…  
  
---------------------------------  
Candle in the Wind – part 1  
---------------------------------  
  
Jake Clawson lay in his bed, sleeping peacefully, not knowing that this day would be one of the worst days in his life.  
  
His clock turned to 6:30 a.m. and started to make a loud beeping noise. Jake grumbled softly and opened his eyes.  
  
'Time to wake up,' he thought and sat up in his bed.  
  
He yawned slightly when he suddenly remembered that his alarm clock didn't make that beeping sound; it was a radio-clock, and Chance's clock was a radio-clock too.  
  
He jumped out of bed running as fast as he could to their communicator to Miss Briggs.  
  
"Sorry I took so long! What can I help you with?" he said into the receiver, trying his hardest not to yawn. But, Callie's answer never came.  
  
"Miss Briggs?"  
  
Still it was only a static noise on the line. He laid the receiver back onto its place and yawned.  
  
'Maybe she accidentally pushed the button,' he thought and tried shake of that creepy feeling he had in his stomach. Then he remembered that he had forgotten to turn off his radio when he had rushed off to the communicator. So he went back upstairs to his bedroom to turn off the radio. When he came into his room he heard the radio. The sound was a bit static but he could hear the voice clearly... He could recognize that voice anywhere and at anytime.  
  
'Dark Kat,' he thought, and felt that awful taste of metal in his mouth.  
  
"And, remember, especially you, SWAT Kats, that you can't stop me. With my radar I can see all vehicles that have been started, and what kind of vehicle it is, and where it is. And with that I will know who you are, SWAT Kats!"  
  
Jake looked at the radio with a dumb look. He was sitting on his bed again.  
  
'Aww, CRUD! What are we going to do now?' he thought. 'Dance up there as Chance and Jake? That would be like giving him our identities and addresses! That is not an option! But, what are we going to do then? Maybe I should wake Chance first; before I decide anything… he got up from his bed and started to walk to Chance's room.'  
  
He went into Chance's room without knocking. Chance was in his bed, still sleeping peacefully.  
  
"Chance," Jake said, shaking Chance slightly.  
  
Chance mumbled something that sounded like 'five more minutes', and moved slightly.  
  
"*Chance*! Dark Kat's attacking MegaKat City!"  
  
Chance grumbled something like 'the Enforcers can handle that'.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, Chance! Get up now. Don't force me use a glass of water!"   
  
Chance sat up in his bed. "Alright, you have my attention. What do you want?"  
  
Jake sighed. "Dark Kat is attacking MegaKat City…"  
  
"So let's go, then!"  
  
"That's the problem, Chance!"  
  
"Huh? What do you mean?"  
  
"Dark Kat has a new radar, he can see every vehicle that has a motor started and what kind of vehicle it is and where it is!" Jake stated.   
  
"You mean that we can't come there as the SWAT Kats?"  
  
"Bingo…"  
  
"What are we going to do then?" Chance demanded. "Dance up there as Chance and Jake?"  
  
"Well, I thought about that too, with those exact words actually, but then we could just give Dark Kat our names and addresses. That's easier."  
  
"What if can't we go up there as the SWAT Kats, but in our truck?"  
  
"That's the point, Chance. We have a truck, not a Volvo! It would be easy to figure out who we are if the SWAT Kats are driving around in a truck!"  
  
"Maybe you have a point there. But what if we pack our things in a bag? Then we can take a cab into town."  
  
Jake thought for a while. "That could work, but then we have to run around there while taking down the ninjas. We are going to get tired pretty fast that way."  
  
"But… if we… uhh… I know!" Chance suddenly shouted out, snapping his fingers. "What if you go into town with a cab then I can pick you up with the truck?"  
  
"Chance, T-Bone can't drive a truck!"  
  
"No, not T-Bone! *Chance* will drive you!"  
  
"I dunno, Chance. That's kinda risky."  
  
"I'll have my glove-a-trix and g-suit in the boot*!"  
  
"Aww... alright then," Jake answered after he thought for a second.  
  
Chance got up from his bed. "Good, now you go pack and I'll call a cab."  
  
"Okay then, Chance," Jake said, with a slight sigh.  
  
Chance walked to their phone and dialed the phone number. After he had ordered a cab he went out where Jake already was.  
  
"The cab will be here any minute."  
  
"Thank you, Chance." Jake sighed. "You know I still don't like this idea. I mean, if one of the ninjas attacks you, you can't defend yourself. A mechanic isn't that good at fighting, you know."  
  
"I can say that I'm an ex-Enforcer and that I still can fight…"  
  
"Yeah, and you just *happen* to have the same fighting style as T-Bone *and* that you still are very fit for a mechanic and that you are *just* as strong as T-Bone, I can continue this forever, Chance! It's still very risky!"  
  
"Hey, I have my g-suit and glove-a-trix in the boot! I can change."  
  
"Yeah, I know, but what are you going to say to the ninja? 'Hey, wait! Before you kill me, can I change to T-Bone, so I can fight you'?"  
  
"Aw, c'mon, Jake! I'm not that stupid!"  
  
"Really?"  
  
Chance growled. "Yes, really!"  
  
"I think that I can see the cab now," Jake said looking at a yellow car in the horizon.  
  
"Hmm… yeah… I think that you're right," Chance said. "Well, um, where am I going to pick you up?"  
  
"Callie's apartment."  
  
The last minutes before the cab arrived passed in silence.  
  
"Well, good luck, pal," Chance said, realizing that he sounded like it was the last time he saw his friend.  
  
"Good luck yourself," Jake said, smiling, trying desperately to ignore that horrible feeling he had.  
  
"See ya' later," Chance said.  
  
"Yeah," Jake said, jumping into the cab. And the cab dove off.  
  
"So, were to, Mister?"  
  
"First of all into town, after that I'll tell what direction you should drive."  
  
"Alright then, Mister."  
  
Jake sighed and clutched his bag, hard.  
  
Some few minutes of silence passed by, until the driver decided to try to break the silence.  
  
"So, what are you going to do there in City?"  
  
"Well, um, nothing special," Jake returned. '…except saving town,' he added thoughtfully.  
  
"But what's in the bag? I mean, if you'll squeeze it harder it'll die," the driver said, snickering at his own joke.  
  
Jake tried to smile. Apparently, he wasn't such a good actor, and the 'smile' looked more like a grimace. "Only clothes and stuff." At least he wasn't lying.   
  
"Oh, okay," the driver said, looking around. "So, which way now, Mister?"  
  
"To the right here, then straight ahead, then to the left," Jake answered.  
  
"Okay then, Mister," the driver said and drove to the right.  
  
Jake sighed and looked out through his window. "You can park over there."  
  
"Alright then, Mister."  
  
"How much will it cost?"  
  
"Twenty dollars, please."  
  
"Here you go," Jake said and gave the driver the money.  
  
After jumping out from the cab he looked around. He had to find a good spot where no one could see him so he could change. Jake looked around again and saw a pile of boxes.  
  
---------------  
  
Meanwhile, Chance was basically breaking the traffic laws, but right now he didn't care. He had to get to Callie's apartment before the ninjas would find Jake. He turned the last corner and saw Razor standing in front of Callie's apartment.  
  
"Get in!" he called to the SWAT Kat.   
  
"No, I want to check on Miss Briggs first," Razor replied.  
  
"I'll do that!" Chance answered "You go into the car!"  
  
"Alright then."  
  
Chance went up to the fourth floor were Callie lived.  
  
'Here we go,' Chance thought. He was just about to knock on the door, but suddenly he stopped himself. 'But what am I going to have as an excuse? Oh, well. I'll improvise. I wonder why Jake wanted to check on Callie. This early in the morning? She's probably sleeping.'  
  
Chance knocked on the door, softly, but no one answered. He knocked harder. Still, no one opened the door. Chance tried to open the door. Carefully, and slowly, the door opened.   
  
Chance looked around before opening the door a little bit more. He stepped into the hall in Callie's apartment. He walked onto the living-room and saw that everything was in a mess; the TV was on the floor, a table was upside-down, Callie's purse was on the floor, empty, and her communicator was on the floor in pieces.  
  
'Holy Kats! It has been a fight. I wonder where Callie is?' Chance thought and looked in Callie's bedroom. There, everything was a mess; one of the pillows was on the floor near the door, another one was ripped to shreds.  
  
Suddenly, Chance spotted a small item on the floor near the ripped pillow. Chance went over to it and held it in his paws.   
  
'Crud! A dart,' Chance thought and sniffed the dart. There was definitely a sleeping drug in it... Oh, CRUD! Callie!'  
  
Chance ran down the stairs instead of taking the elevator. He jumped into the truck and slammed the door.  
  
"Whoa! What's the hurry?" Razor asked.  
  
Chance sighed and started the truck. "I think that Dark Kat has katnapped Callie..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Look at this," Chance said, handing Razor the dart while driving.  
  
"A dart..."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Razor sniffed. "A sleeping drug!"  
  
"Like you would have said, 'Bingo'."  
  
Razor sighed and turned on the radio.  
  
"Hey, what did you do that for?"  
  
"If Dark Kat sent out another message... Now, tell me more of what you saw in the apartment!"  
  
"Well in the living room I saw that Callie's communicator was broken. I think that someone smashed it."  
  
"That's why the line was static before," Razor said, thinking out loud.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Before, when you were sleeping, Callie called but there was static." Razor sighed. "If I had taken the call seriously, maybe she wouldn't be in trouble now."  
  
"C'mon Jake..."  
  
Razor looked at him.  
  
"I mean Razor, of course! You know that that wouldn't have done any difference!"  
  
"Yeah, you're right! So, how is it going with her, Chance?"  
  
Chance blushed.  
  
---------------  
  
Meanwhile, a ninja stood outside. His order was to look after the SWAT Kats, if they would have come up with something to hide them from the radar.  
  
As the truck drove past him, he thought he had seen something blue in the passenger seat. He turned his head towards the truck again. Now he could clearly see who it was. Razor. That blue and red helmet was hard to miss!  
  
He reached out for his weapon, took a careful aim and pulled the trigger. The ninja grinned when he saw the missile hit.  
  
"Aww, crud!" Chance screamed.  
  
Razor didn't say a word while he opened the door to the truck and leaped out. Chance did the same but he tried not to leap out. Instead, he did something that looked like something between jumping and walking out. He knew that he right now looked rather ridiculous, like a very   
clumsy frog.   
  
The ninja looked at Razor, then at Chance, who looked so much unlike T-Bone.  
  
Chance had the words 'scared' and 'insecure' written all over him.  
  
"Huh?" the ninja said, then remembering Razor and aimed his gun at him.  
  
In a blink of an eye Chance had changed his look from scared and insecure to the same cocky grin as T-Bone had. The ninja looked shocked at Chance, who had brought up his golden paw into a big fist, and was just about to smash it into the ninja's face. The ninja saw when the fist came 'running' and felt it smashing into his face, breaking his nose, before he blacked-out.  
  
"Lights out, pal!" Chance said with a grin, before he changed back to the same insecure look that he had before.  
  
Razor looked around. There wasn't anyone around. "I really hope that you didn't give our identities away, Chance!"  
  
"Don't worry, Razor. There wasn't anyone around and that guy probably has lost his memory now," Chance said.  
  
"Well if he hasn't we are in big trouble!"  
  
"Yeah I know." Chance sighed. "So what are we going to do then?"  
  
Razor thought for a while. "Take 'im to the nearest hospital and say that you found 'im that way," he said.  
  
"Okay," Chance said and lifted the ninja up and laid him over his shoulders.  
  
"And, Chance, remember that you aren't *that* strong, T-Bone is but you aren't!"  
  
Chance looked at Razor. "Can't I go there as T-Bone?"  
  
"Yeah, and would you believe me if I was T-Bone and said 'I found the ninja this way! I didn't punch him!'?"  
  
"Honestly, no."  
  
"Just as I thought, you know that not even I can go there like this and convince them that I don't know how he got into that shape!" Razor said.  
  
Meanwhile, a pair of eyes had just arrived with its owner, and the owner of the eyes had arrived just in time to hear what Razor had said. Neither Chance or Razor see the eyes nor did they hear the screeching sound of Creeplings.  
  
"Yeah, you're right Razor. You aren't that believable when you're in those clothes, as you would be in your normal clothes."  
  
The eyes, which looked at them, narrowed into slits.  
  
"Come my Creeplings," a voice said, and the Creeplings obeyed their master. 'I'm lucky that I heard them. Looks like the larger kat knows that SWAT Kat and his identity,' Dark Kat thought and broke out into laughter.  
  
"Did you hear that?"  
  
"No. What?"  
  
"I don't know. Maybe it was the wind."  
  
"Yeah, probably. But, hey, how am I going to get this guy to the hospital?"  
  
"It isn't that far to the hospital. I think that you can drag him."  
  
"Yeah, sure," Chance said sarcastically, but did as Razor had said. "Where am I going to meet you later?"  
  
"Here. I'm going to try to fix the truck!"  
  
"Alright then, see ya later," Chance said, and started to drag the ninja away.  
  
Razor looked at his friend when he turned around the corner and out to the road again.   
  
Razor looked for a while and then he turned to the truck and started to look at the damage.  
  
---------------  
  
Some few minutes later Chance had reached the hospital.  
  
"Can someone help me here? He is kinda heavy!" Chance shouted.  
  
A doctor came over to him. "Looks like a ninja..."  
  
"Yeah, it's one of Dark Kat's," Chance said with a nod. "I found him this way. I've got no idea how this happened!" he said, rather desperately, right after that the words left his mouth. He wished he hadn't said them. 'Stupid line! Great, Chancey, if doc believed *that* he   
must be stupid!'  
  
The doctor ignored Chance's rather stupid line, and without a word, he examined the ninja closely. "He is in pretty bad shape. His nose is broken and it looks like he has gotten a very bad concussion."  
  
"That doesn't sound all too good!" Wait a sec. The doc actually believed *that*?  
  
"No it doesn't. When did you find him?"  
  
"I don't know! I didn't look at my watch." Chance sighed. "What am I going to do now?"  
  
"Fill out these forms and then you are free to go."  
  
"Thanks doc!" Chance said and took out a pen from his pocket. "Lemmi see now."  
  
Chance filled out the forms the best way he could and gave them to the doctor.  
  
"Thank you, Mister," the doctor said and looked at the papers, "Furlong."   
  
"Thank you, doc," Chance said and walked out from the hospital. 'A broken nose AND a bad concussion. Whoa, I've must have hit him pretty hard, but the concussion he must have gotten when he fell onto the ground. He must have taken a pretty bad fall,' Chance thought when he headed back to Razor.  
  
Chance was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice Dark Kat until it was too late.  
  
Dark Kat grabbed Chance from behind and held one paw over his mouth so he couldn't scream.  
  
Chance turned his head so he could see who had attacked him.   
  
'Dark Kat!' Chance thought when he saw the big purple kat; his eyes became wide in fear. 'Holy kats! Does he know who I am? What am I going to do? I can't fight against him, in case I'll reveal my identity!'  
  
Dark Kat grinned when he saw fear in Chance's eyes.  
  
"Mmph..." Chance grumbled when Dark Kat started to carry him away.   
  
As Chance started to struggle against Dark Kat, Dark Kat pulled out another dart with the sleeping-drug and injected Chance with it. Chance felt the dart as Dark Kat injected it into his body. He started to panic and started struggled even more. But it became harder and harder to   
move and Chance had to give up, and soon he had drifted off to sleep.  
  
---------------  
  
Meanwhile Razor had just finished repairing the truck.  
  
Razor sighed and looked at his clock. 'What is taking him so long?' he thought. 'Shouldn't he be back by now? It was an hour ago that he left... It can't take that long to get to the hospital and back, right? Why am I so worried? Chance is old enough to take care of himself! Maybe something has happened to him... I wonder if he has gotten his transmitter with him?'   
  
Razor clicked on a button on his glove-a-trix and a red spot started to blink on the small screen.   
  
"Bingo. Lemme see now. Hey! Is he that far from here? Either the fact that he is lost or that he was katnapped. Whatever it is he is pretty far from here. I have to get there! I can't take the truck. That would be giving me away. Looks like that I have to walk," Razor said with a sigh. He looked around, opened the boot and took out his bag and then locked the truck. "Just in case," he mumbled and started to walk to the same direction as the blinking light on his glove-a-trix.  
  
---------------  
  
Meanwhile, Chance started to moan.   
  
"Where am I?" he said and opened his eyes, just to see a big purple face grinning at him.  
  
"Ah, I can see that you are awake now!" Dark Kat said.  
  
Chance tried to get up to sitting position, which was hard because he had his paws tied up.   
  
"What do you want?" Chance spat out.  
  
"Well I have to admit that you did wake up faster then other kats would," Dark Kat said, changing the subject.  
  
"Yeah, yeah! Thanks a lot! Now enough with small talk! What do you want? I don't think that you katnapped me just to say that I wake up fast from sleeping-drugs!"  
  
Dark Kat moved closer to Chance, so close that Chance could smell Dark Kat's breath.  
  
"I want to know who the SWAT Kats are!" Dark Kat said with a small growl.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about!"   
  
"Wrong answer!" Dark Kat said and brought up his sharp claw and cut Chance's neck, slowly.  
  
Chance growled in pain.  
  
"Now I want you to tell me who the SWAT Kats are!"  
  
"And what made you think that I know?"  
  
"I saw you talking with the smaller SWAT Kat in the alley!" Dark Kat came closer with his face again. "Now, I want you to tell me! Who… Are…The… SWAT…Kats?" Dark Kat asked slowly.  
  
"Even if I knew, what makes you think that I would tell you?"  
  
Dark Kat slammed his big fist into Chance's face, which made his nose bleed.  
  
"That's why!"  
  
Chance just turned his head. He knew that he couldn't show how strong he really was and that he could take much more pain then that.  
  
"Looks that you are in a bit of pain… But I can assure that if you won't tell me, it will get worse. Much, much worse!"  
  
"I… don't think…so!" Chance growled.  
  
"Suit yourself!" Dark Kat roared and slammed his paw into Chance's face again, this time so hard that Chance blacked out with a groan.  
  
Dark Kat lifted him up and un-locked a door and opened and threw Chance, who still was unconscious, into the room, closed the door and locked it.  
  
The room was rather small. It was painted blood red, and a small light was on, but that was the only light source.  
  
"Holy Kats! Chance! Wake up!"   
  
Chance started to wake up when he felt his shirt getting wet. He opened his eyes and saw… "…Callie?" 

Apparently, she had cried; her eyes was still filled with tears. 

"Whoa! Callie, what is it?" 

"I thought that," she paused when a tear started to slide down her cheek, "…that you were…" 

"But I'm not," Chance said softly. "Now take it easy so maybe we can get outta here." 

She nodded softly. 

"Are you tied up, Callie?" 

"Yes, my paws are…" 

"Okay. Sit behind me now with your back against mine, and then maybe I can cut your ropes." 

She did as she was told and after a minute she was free. 

"Thanks, that's a lot better," she said and rubbed her wrist softly. 

"That's good! Can you please help me now?" 

Callie sat down and started carefully to untie Chance. 

"There you go, Chance." 

"Thanks, Callie." 

Meanwhile Razor had just reached the building that Chance was in.

"Alright. Looks like I have to climb up. I better leave the bag here." He looked up, while tossing the bag into some bushes. "Here I go," he said and fired a grapping hook.

Dark Kat looked at Razor through one of his TV-screens.

"Looks like he is here for his friend… or Miss Briggs," Dark Kat mumbled to himself. "Well that doesn't matter! They will both meet before the Swat Kat dies…" 

Dark Kat unlocked the door to the room were Chance and Callie were in. 

"What the heck do you want now, Dark Kat?" Chance asked. 

"Right now, your *silence*!" Dark Kat said and grabbed both Chance and Callie. 

"Hey, lemme go!" Callie cried out. 

Dark Kat didn't listen; he started to drag them to the roof where Razor just had arrived. 

"Dark Kat, what the heck are you doing? Let us go!" 

Dark Kat opened a door to the roof and pushed Callie and Chance through it. 

"Hey, you could at least be a bit gentle to the lady! Don't you know any manners?" Chance spat out, his words dripping with venom. 

"Ah, I'm glad that you could join us, Swat Kat. As you see I found some of your friends…" 

"What are you talking about? I am not a friend of Razor's! I only know him 'cause I've seen him on TV!" Chance shouted. 

"Well, I tried to convince this gentlekat to tell me who you really are…" Dark Kat said, pulling out a gun, grabbing Chance and aiming the gun at Chance's head. "Now, you take off your mask or your friend here will be a very sorry kat!" 

Razor looked at Chance then at Dark Kat then back at Chance, then he removed his helmet. 

"Razor, don't do it!" Chance cried. 'Razor or Jake, it doesn't matter who, my best friend and brother, don't do it! Please! Even if I die it doesn't matter! Just don't do it!' 

Razor stopped. 'What am I going to do? Chance doesn't want me to do it. But if I don't he'll die.' 

"Well, Swat Kat, what's your choice?" 

Razor looked at his helmet then back at Dark Kat. He had an idea. It was crazy but still, it was an idea. He took careful aim and threw his helmet at Dark Kat's paw that held the gun. Dark Kat, who got caught off-guard, dropped it. Meanwhile, Chance, who didn't let the time go to waste, managed to break free, making a quick dive for the gun. 

Razor looked at Chance just to check if he had the gun, then he made a flying-kick at Dark Kat. 

Dark Kat looked up, just to see a foot coming against him, fast. 

"Bingo!" 

Razor looked at his friend, and walked towards him. 

"Hey, are you alright?" 

Chance looked up at Razor, "Yeah…" 

"Sorry that I pushed you into this… I shouldn't have asked you to drive me…" 

"Hey, that okay! I said yes, so it was my decision, I knew the risk!" 'And it was my idea in the first place… I don't ask for forgiveness, Jake, you don't need to! I'm the one that should do that! It was my idea!' Chance thought, then he saw a movement behind Razor. He focused his eyes to see who or what had moved, he saw Dark Kat, still on lying on the floor, aiming a blaster at Razor. "Razor! Look out!" Chance screamed and pushed Razor out of the way. 

Razor turned to see why Chance had pushed him, just in time to see Chance getting hit by the laser and pushed of the building by it. 

Everything went in slow-motion in Razor's mind. He heard Chance scream, he knew that Chance would never survive that fall… 

'He died… and he died because of me… I know that Dark Kat is dangerous; I should have looked after him better…' Razor thought just as a small tear escaped his eyes. 

"*Chance*!" 

Razor realized that he wasn't the one that had screamed. He turned around just to see Callie, who looked like she was about to cry any minute. 

"Chance…" A tear left her eye "…he died…" 

Razor turned his head again, this time to see Dark Kat. His mind flashed and rage took over it. Razor didn't think twice. He jumped up, and attacked, blinded by rage. He clawed, kicked and punched. If Dark Kat could see through his mask, he wouldn't see rage. He wouldn't see fear. He would see sadness, pure sadness, and tears, tears for his brother. Not his friend. Not his partner, not his pilot. His brother. 

Razor knew that he had done something that he had told to Chance not to do: attack blinded by rage. He took a deep breath and stopped. He looked at Dark Kat, who now was unconscious, then he turned to Callie. She was sitting on the floor, crying. She sniffled and turned her head. Razor could clearly hear her sniffling. He walked up to her. 

"Was he close?" he whispered and laid a paw on her shoulder. 

The only answer was her sniffling. 

"Miss Briggs?" he sighed slightly. "I understand if you are mad at me. I'm the reason that he died…" 

Callie turned around, "N-no… it wasn't… y-your…" she started to cry quietly, and placed her head on Razor's chest. 

Razor could feel a tear strolling down his own cheek, but he didn't care to wipe it away. He looked up to the sky. 'Nothing will be as before…The skies will never see the dare-devil pilot again… And I will never see my brother again…' Razor thought, his memory flashed and he remembered one of the reasons that Chance died. Dark Kat. Razor shuddered. 

"What is it, Razor?" Callie asked. 

"Dark Kat. We forgot all about him!" he said and turned to Dark Kat, but he was still unconscious. "Callie, can you call the Enforcers?" 

"Yes, but I need to find a phone first." 

"Good, you go and look around while I'll look after him!" Razor said, pointing at Dark Kat. 

"Okay," Callie said and turned around. She walked quickly into the building again and started to look around. She couldn't recognize the building, and she had no idea were she was. 

"C'mon, it can't be so hard finding a phone, right," she said with a sigh. 

She opened a door and looked in. In there she saw a ninja looking at a big screen. 'Puh, I'm glad that the door didn't make any noises!' She took a quick look at the screen and saw the address to the building that she was in. 

She closed the door and made a mark on the door with a pen that she had found, and continued looking. 

After some few minutes of searching, she finally found a phone and dialed the number to the Enforcers. 

She listened to the signals, counting them. 

Beep… 

One 

Beep… 

Two 

Beep… 

Three 

Beep… 

Four… one more signal… 

Beep… 

She was just about to lay the receiver down on its place when she finally heard a voice in the in it. 

"Hello?" 

"Hi, this is quite an emergency! I'm in MegaKat Bay, building 17." 

"Calm down, Missy! What's the emergency?" 

"This is where Dark Kat is!" 

"Alright, we'll be there in a couple of minutes! Don't panic!" 

Callie didn't answer that; she had already laid back the receiver. Glad that she didn't have high heels on, she started to run back to Razor. 

When Callie got back to Razor, he was standing, looking up at the sky. She approached him slowly, if she hadn't known better, she would have sworn that he was crying. 

Callie placed her paw on his shoulder. "Razor?" she asked slowly. 

Razor turned his head. "Miss Briggs, did you find a phone?" he asked, his voice a bit raspy. 

"Yes, I found one and called the Enforcers, and I found something else. I think that it was that radar. This is where we have a small problem. If the Enforcers come the ninjas will see them and stop them. If you leave to break the radar, Dark Kat might wake up and escape…" 

"Dark Kat won't wake up in a while; I found a dart in his pocket that I used on him…" 

"Oh," Callie said, nervously. 

"Stay here! If he moves; scream!" Razor said, while running down. 

"Alright… Wait! You don't know which room the radar is in…!" Callie shouted, but in vain. Razor was already running down to the second stairwell. 

"The right door has a mark from a pen on it!" she shouted, hoping that he had heard her. 

------------------- 

Meanwhile, Razor had reached the first floor, counted from the roof. 

He heard the distance voice of Callie, "A door with a mark on it? That can't be so hard to find, can it?" Razor said, looking around. 

As Razor turned left at a corner, a ninja stood some few meters in the corridor. Razor took a step backwards, but noticed that the ninja was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't seen him. 

Razor looked around to quickly find a good hiding place, but the only thing that was in range was a chair, so he jumped down behind it 

'That's a very good guard… but… hmm… that gives me an idea…' Razor thought with a snicker. 

The ninja turned his back against Razor. Razor saw his chance. He stood up and snuck up behind the ninja and put a paw against the ninja's mouth, so he couldn't scream. 

Razor dragged the ninja into a room that was nearby, tying him up and putting an old rag in the ninja's mouth. Razor took the ninja's clothes and put them on himself, walking out the room, locking it. "Thanks bud!" Razor said, before closing the door. 

Now, clad as a ninja, Razor walked around the building, not needing to be so careful. 

'A door with a mark, a door with a mark…C'mon, that can't be so hard to find…,' Razor thought while walking to the left in a corridor. 'Haven't I been here before…? I hope that I'm not walking in circles…' 

Razor turned left again, but after walking in a couple of minutes he reached a dead end. 

'Crud! Why do things like these always happen to me?' Razor sighed and started to head back, suddenly he saw a small cross on one of the doors that he had passed earlier. 

'What the? Thank the Holy Kats for the dead end,' Razor thought and opened the door slightly; the first thing that he saw was the wrong end of a gun, pointed directly to him. Razor reflexively took one step back. 

Suddenly the ninja lowered the gun and nodded. 

At first, Razor blinked, but then remembered that he was clad as a ninja. He nodded back and signed with his finger that he wanted the ninja to follow him. 

The ninja walked out of the room and gave Razor a short nod. Razor answered by punching the ninja on his nose, hard. 

"Wha…?" the ninja blinked in pain, and in shock, as he felt his blood dripping from his nose. Meanwhile Razor brought up his fist again, preparing to punch. The ninja saw the incoming fist and ducked, barely missing Razor's attack. 

The ninja threw himself onto the floor, grabbing Razor's legs in the same movement, forcing Razor too fall down next to him. 

The ninja was the one to recover the fastest; he got up and kicked Razor, as hard as he could, in his gut. 

Razor groaned in pain, but managed to get up on his feet, he tried to punch the ninja. 

The ninja saw the fist coming and dodged it. In the same movement the ninja tried to sweep Razor off his feet. Razor jumped, kicking the ninja in his face while up in the air. 

The ninja, who had been taken by surprise, stepped backward by the force, Razor prepared himself to kick again, and he jumped up in the air, pulling up his left leg, extending his right. The kick would have been powerful enough to make the poor ninja fly at least a couple of meters, if it weren't for the fact that the ninja had prevented the movement. 

The ninja moved slightly to the right, some few seconds before impact, making Razor fly pass him. 

Razor landed with his back against the ninja. 

The ninja had turned around to attack Razor again, but Razor was already in the middle of a jump, landing behind him. 

"You're good, but not good enough!" Razor said through his teeth. 

"Oh, yeah?!" The ninja said, running with a low profile, trying to hit Razor in his stomach with his head. 

Razor flipped up in the air, making the ninja run under him instead. 

"Huh?" the ninja exclaimed, looking back at Razor, not seeing that he was about to do the typical thing - running with his head first into a wall. 

The ninja's head connected with the wall with a moan from the ninja, who instantly blacked out. 

Razor sighed in relief. "I dunno how much more of that that I could take…," he said between pants. 

He walked up to the radar-room door, opening it. There were three ninjas more in that room. 

Razor sighed. He didn't like this one *single* bit! 

'But a kat has to do what a kat has to do…' 

The ninjas nodded as a greeting. Razor, for once, greeted back the same way. He stood near the door, the same way as the other ninja had done. 

In a weird way, his still rather visible glove-a-trix hadn't been noticed yet. And, that was to his advantage. At least it was for now… 

Razor looked up again, and for the first time, he saw the radar. There were many dots on it. Most of them were moving from town, usually with the mark 'civil car', 'taxi' or sometimes even 'bus'. But right now, that wasn't his concern. His attention was on some blue dots with the mark for 'Enforcer helicopters' heading right for them. 

He had to work rather fast before they were in firing-range, and that would be in… two minutes at the most. 

'*Crud*! I spent too much time fighting that ninja! Better act quickly, or else those helicopters will be more like trash! Even though, we could need some more electronics to the TurboKat.' Razor couldn't help but to grin at the thought. 

Razor looked down at his glove-a-trix, flickering through all the weapons he had in it. Ten different types of missiles, five spider-missiles and two nets, that should be enough… at least if no other ninjas would come in and crash the party. 

'Alrighty! Let's kick some tail!' He shook his head in sadness as he thought of Chance. 'His usual favorite words.' 

Razor lifted up his right paw a bit, aiming at the radars screen. After a few seconds aiming, he fired a mini octopus-missile. The missile hit the large screen, shattering it into a thousand pieces. 

"Whoa!" one of the ninja exclaimed, while leaping away. 

Razor sent the next mini octopus-missile at the computer part of the radar. The missile hit the target with a high explosion for being such a small devise, but when the smoke cleared, the devise was still in one piece. 

Razor cursed under his breath. 'Crud! That's one hard nut to crack! Oh well, one crisis at the time! First this…' "Heeyaa!" Razor had kicked a ninja in middle of his thought. '…Ninja! Then that undestroyable thingy!' 

Razor fired a spider-missile at one of the ninjas that had been on his way out to get help. 

'One gone, two too go!' 

"Not so fast buddy!" Razor said through his teeth while trying to get the first ninja of his back. 

Soon, a second ninja had come and joined the first one fighting Razor. 

'Oh man! That's unfair two against one! Think, Jake, think!' Razor thought while he dodged a punch from one of the ninjas, only to get kicked from behind by the second one. 

Razor fell onto his knees, giving the ninjas the opportunity to strike again, and again. One of the ninjas had found pleasure clawing at his face. By this point, Razor had several wounds on his face. 

Razor lifted his right arm up, shaking, firing a net at the ninja. The ninja dodged it, even though it wasn't necessary since, strangely enough, Razor's aim would have missed by centimeters. 

But, at least, that gave him time to get up and kick the second ninja. He fired his glove-a-trix and two sets of spider-missiles popped out, wrapping the ninja up. 

Razor was just about to turn around when he felt an enormous pain in his neck, making him fall over on his tail. The ninja had him just where he liked it, on the floor. 

Razor looked up on the ninja with misty eyes, closing them, preparing himself for the last blow. 

But it never came. Opening his eyes, he saw the ninja was on the floor, unconscious. Looking up, he saw that his savior was. 

"Callie?" he slowly got up "What…? I mean… how did ya know it was me?" 

Callie snickered slightly, "Well, it isn't often you see a ninja with a glove-a-trix…" she laughed slightly. 

"Oh…" Razor said sheepishly, while looking around. He saw something was missing. But what…? 

"The radar… where…?" Razor stopped himself in mid sentence when he saw what Callie held in her paws, broken. 

"Oh…" she looked at her paws, trying to look serious, even though a smile was forming on her lips. "Well, I had to save ya some way, and this was the thing that was closest!" she said, tossing the device into a trashcan, "I don't think that you can use that thing now…" She giggled slightly. 

Razor just smiled weakly while taking of the ninja's clothes, revealing his g-suit. "How come ya know that I needed help?" 

"It took you so long that I went down here to see what was wrong… Now let's go before some other ninjas come along!" 

"Yeah! I'll escort ya home!" Razor said. 

"Thanks… this is going ta be a painful walk home…" Callie said with a sigh. 

"Why is that?" 

Callie simply pointed down to her feet. And then for the first time, Razor saw that Callie still was clad in her pajamas, and she had no shoes on. 

"Oh, I see! But don' worry." He pointed down to his own feet. "I do this all the time!" he said, forcing Callie to giggle. 

As they walked out of the building, they heard the choppers land. 

"Here comes the cavalry, late as usual," Razor mumbled. 

It was a quiet walk home, and painful, at least for Callie, who wasn't used to walking barefoot. But at last they were back at Callie's apartment. 

Callie opened her apartment door, "Oh, this looks even worse then it did last time!" She sighed. "This going to take some time to clean, I'm sorry about the mess, Razor!" 

"S' okay, and if you want I can help ya to clean" 

Callie snickered at the comment, "Razor? 'Housecleaner'? That's not the first thing that I think of when I hear 'Swat Kats'. It's more the thought of two macho guys in a cool jet, not a cleaning company!" 

Razor laughed. "I have ta admit, that's not really our image, cleaning houses! I can see that in front of me 'Swat Kats - The Radical Cleaning Squadron'!" Razor grinned, "Ya know what? I hate cleaning, but you did save my life, so I have to repay you *some* way!" 

Callie giggled. "I guess so…" 

Razor started to pick up her purse, lipstick and other things that should be in it, until he came to the small pieces of her communicator. "Oh, what happened to this?" 

Callie walked over, looking at the small pieces, "It happened this morning. Why don't you sit down? This will take some time to explain…" she said pointing to her couch. 

"Uhum… sure…" Razor said, looking a bit nervous, but sat down. "Start form the beginning, please." 

"Well, it happened this morning, around 6:30. I woke up when I heard a knocking sound, so I went up to open the door…" 

"How do ya know that it was 6:30?" 

"I looked at my clock before I got up to open the door, may I continue?" She continued as Razor nodded his head an affirmative. "And when I opened the door, there were two ninjas there. I screamed and shut the door as hard as I could, but one of the ninjas had his foot in the way… Anyway I ran into the living room, hid under the table trying to call you guys, when a ninja came and turned it over…" She stopped to blush, it didn't sound all too brave that she was hiding under a table, but at least she was telling the truth. 

Razor grinned. "Please continue." 

She nodded, "I just had the time to run away into my bedroom, but as the other ninja came in, I could only defend myself with throwing the pillows at him, when I threw the second one, he was really close, so he just ripped it. And as clumsy as I am, I tripped, giving him the perfect opportunity to give me that… drug, or whatever that was!" She sighed. "That's the last thing that I can remember…" 

"I see." Razor looked at the pieces of the former communicator. "I'll simply make a new one." 

"Okay, that would nice." She got up. "Well, if it's okay, I would like to take a quick shower and get properly dressed. After all, I *have* a Swat Kat in my house!" She smiled and walked out to her bathroom. 

As fast as Callie left the room, Razor started to cry softly.'Crud. I can't hold this acting so much longer… I smile and laugh, while my soul's crying my tail of!' Razor pulled up the table into its normal position. 'Crud, I miss you Chance.' He wiped off a tear and lifted up the TV, putting it back it onto its place. 

When Callie came out from her bathroom, drying her hair with a towel, Razor got a bit shocked. Callie was wearing a pair of cut shorts and a white T-shirt. He had never seen Callie in other clothes then her business suit. 

"What? Shocked to see that I actually wear other clothes?" 

Razor smiled. "Well, um… I've never seen ya in other clothes then that pink business suit…" 

"Well, ya know, I actually don't every day of the week." She smiled and sat down in the couch next to Razor. "Tell me, how come Chance." She turned away to wipe of a tear. "How come Chance was with you…?" 

"It's a rather long story, but I'll try to give the short version." He sighed. "Well, when T-Bone and I heard about that radar that Dark Crud had, we went by foot, and after a while we broke up. I went ta check on you, but before I came that far, I met up with…What did ya say his name was, again?" 

'I hate to pretend not ta know my own brother…I'm so sorry Chance!' 

"Chance. Chance Furlong." 

"I met up with Mr. Furlong in front of yer house. He told me that you were gone and that your apartment was a mess, and then I managed to convince him ta drive me around. 

After a while we got attacked by a ninja, and I managed to win over the ninja, after making him unconscious. But, Mr. Furlong insisted to take him to a hospital, so I stayed, waiting for him ta return, but he never came. I didn't think so much about it, and went to look after you." 

'I hate to lie to Callie, but I can't tell her, not yet…' 

Callie nodded. "I see…" She got up. "You want some milk?" 

"Nah, thanks… I need ta get back to base! T-Bone is probably worried sick!" Razor smiled and got up from the couch. "Maybe I'll see ya later…" 

Callie smiled. "Yes, I'll see you… but how will I contact you if…" 

"Oh…" Razor said, cutting her off in mid sentence. "Well…" He reached down to his pocket, pulling up another communicator. "Here… This one isn't fully done yet. It doesn't have a tracker in it, so you have ta tell us where you are. But it has ta do until I'm done with repairing this one…" He tossed it to Callie while turning to the door. "I'll see ya!" 

"Bye…" She sighed and closed the door after Razor. 

Razor walked back to the truck. Lucky for him, it wasn't parked so far from Callie's apartment. 

--------------------------------- 

He reached the truck a quarter after he left Callie's apartment. He reached down to his pocket, pulling out his car-keys. He walked back to the truck's boot and was just about to open it until he remembered that his bag was still at the building. But he didn't want to go back. He didn't want to go back to the place where Chance had… died. 

He opened the driver's door, sitting down onto the driver's seat, closing the door. He looked around. No one to be seen. He took of his helmet, putting it on the passenger's seat. 

He looked around again; still no one. Carefully, he took off his mask, putting it under his helmet, then he unzipped his g-suit, revealing his T-shirt. He took off his g-suit halfway, so when you looked from the outside, it looked just like he simply had a white T-shirt on. 

Jake took the keys and turned the motor on, and drove home. 

--------------------------------- 

He was soon home. He walked out of the truck, almost tripping on one of the sleeves on the g-suit. 

He walked slowly into their house, cursing his g-suit a couple of times after tripping on it. But, after a while, he reached the door. After a painful while. It wasn't that he had hurt himself when he tripped. It was just that… it reminded him of all the happy moments. 

With Chance. 

He walked in after opening the door. He sighed heavily and walked down into the hangar. It seemed so quiet when he walked down. Sure, it wasn't the *first* time he had walked down the stairs alone. It just felt so… empty. 

The TurboKat was still there, shining even in the dim light. 

Jake reached out, just to feel the smooth surface. But, as he touched it, it all became too painful. He remembered how Chance had looked like a kitten on Christmas Eve every time he had seen the powerful jet. 

Jake turned away to face the metallic lockers, the red letters 'T-B' and 'R' shining brightly on them. 

He sighed heavily and walked towards the one with the 'R' on. He opened the door to the locker slowly and took of the rest of his g-suit and stuffed it into his locker. 

He took one last painful look at Chance's locker before he went upstairs. 

"I'm sorry, Chance…" He turned his face and walked up to take a shower. 

--------------------------------- 

Will be continued… 

--------------------------------- 

  
  



End file.
